Skip to Main Content

Library Subject Guides

Music: Citation Styles

Which Citation Style Do I Use?

The School of Music uses two citation styles, MHRA and APA. Check with your lecturer or supervisor if you are unsure which one to use for assignments in your course.

MHRA

 

MHRAStyle Tip Sheet  – a summary with examples of the common types of references used in essay and assignments.

MHRA Style Guide (4th ed.) – full text of the guide from the Modern Humanities Research Association.

MHRA output style for EndNote may be downloaded from

APA Style

APA Style – UC Library pages that give an outline of the style and the most common types of references

Music recordings and music scores in APA style

Grove Music Online

  • The top of the article should have all the details needed for the reference. Use these details to create a reference for the APA style for an electronic encyclopedia
  • The Cite button , which gives examples for APA as well as MLA and Chicago referencing styles, is not fully reliable, unfortunately.

 

Examples

1. Articles with authors

Details at the top of the articles
​Polyphony
Wolf Frobenius, Peter Cooke, Caroline Bithell and Izaly Zemtsovsky
https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.42927
Published in print: 20 January 2001 Published online: 2001

Porter, Cole (Albert)
Matthew Shaftel
https://doi.org/10.1093/omo/9781561592630.013.90000353387
Published in print: 26 November 2013 Published online: 20 October 2020

APA references

Frobenius, W., Cooke, P., Bithell, C., & Zemtsovsky, I. (2001). Polyphony. In D. Root (Ed. in Chief), Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.42927

Shaftel, M. (2020). Porter, Cole (Albert). In D. Root (Ed. in Chief), Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/omo/9781561592630.013.90000353387

APA in-text citation
My assignment text Frobenius et al. (2001) ... OR ... (Frobenius et al. , 2001)


My assignment text Shaftel (2020) ... OR ... (Shaftel, 2020)

 

2. Article without any listed article authors

Details at the top of the article​
Colotomic structure [colotomy] (from Gk. kōlon: ‘section’, ‘limb’)
https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.06155
Published in print: 20 January 2001 Published online: 2001

APA reference

Oxford University Press. (2001). Colotomic structure (colotomy) (from Gk. kōlon: ‘section’, ‘limb’). In D. Root (Ed. in Chief), Grove Music Online. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.06155

APA in-text citation
My assignment text ... (Oxford University Press, 2001)

3. Article with a specific date published online

Details at the top of the article
Xaphoon [Pocket Sax]
Laurence Libin
https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.L2215116
Published in print: 08 December 2014 Published online: 26 October 2011

APA reference

Libin, L. (2011). Xaphoon (pocket sax). In D. Root (Ed. in Chief), Grove Music Online. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.L2215116

APA in-text citation
My assignment text Libin (2011) ... OR ... (Libin, 2011)

The APA output style for EndNote (APA 7th) is bundled with the standard installation and also available for separate download

MHRA Style Tip Sheet

The MHRA style is often used in the arts and humanities, particularly in the United Kingdom. It uses footnotes that fully reference a citation. The footnoting is MHRA’s major advantage: a reader does not need to consult the bibliography to find a reference, as the footnote provides all the details. The examples on these pages are based on the MHRA Style Guide: A Handbook for Authors, Editors, and Writers of Theses, 4th edn (Modern Humanities Research Association, 2024).

Footnotes

Use your word-processing program to create the footnotes. Insert the footnote at a natural break, usually at the end of a sentence or paragraph. Place it after the item that you wish to acknowledge or annotate. Sequential numbering will happen automatically with the program.

The footnote must include the full bibliographic details of the item, according to the type as listed below. Second and subsequent references to the same item can be abbreviated, most commonly to author’s surname and page number.

General principles for footnotes

  • For titles in English, all the principle words are capitalised. The first word of a subtitle following a colon is always capitalised. For titles in other languages, follow the capitalisation rules of the language in question.
  • Authors’ names appear in spoken word order, i.e. as firstname lastname.
  • Book and journal titles are italicised.
  • Article titles and chapter titles appear in single quotation marks.
  • Encyclopedia and dictionary entry headwords appear in quotation marks, e.g. ‘sonata’.
  • Titles of operas, songs, poems, stories, etc. appear in quotation marks.
  • Use p. if the information comes from a single page, pp. if it spans two or more pages, e.g. pp. 2–6.
  • All notes end with a full stop, except when the note ends with a square bracket.
  • The pattern of information required is who-what-where-when.
    Author’s name, Title of Whole Work in Italics (Publisher, year), p. xx.

Bibliography

Your essay should conclude with a full bibliography of works consulted. The author’s surname appears first. Arrange the bibliography alphabetically by surname; if there is no author, list under title.

Footnote and Bibliography Citations by Item Type

The examples on these pages are based on the MHRA Style Guide: A Handbook for Authors, Editors, and Writers of Theses, 4th edn (Modern Humanities Research Association, 2024).

Books (1 author)

First Footnote
Jon W. Finson, Nineteenth-Century Music: The Western Classical Tradition (Prentice Hall, 2002), p. 65.

Second and subsequent footnotes
Finson, Nineteenth-Century Music, p. 71.

Bibliography
Finson, Jon W., Nineteenth-Century Music: The Western Classical Tradition (Prentice Hall, 2002)
Books (2–3 authors)

First footnote
Gillyanne Hayes and Jeremy Fisher, Successful Singing Auditions (Black, 2002).

Second and subsequent footnotes
Hayes and Fisher, Successful Singing Auditions, p. 22.

Bibliography
Kayes, Gillyanne and Jeremy Fisher, Successful Singing Auditions (Black, 2002)
Books (4 or more authors)

First footnote
Jen-yen Chen and others, Three Masses from Vienna: A Capella Masses (A-R Editions, 2004), pp. 24–25.

Second and subsequent footnotes
Chen and others, Three Masses, p. 25.

Bibliography
Chen, Jen-yen and others, Three Masses from Vienna: A Capella Masses (A-R Editions, 2004)
Chapters in Edited Books

Template
Author, ‘Title of Chapter: Subtitle’, in Book Title: Subtitle, ed. by editors (Publisher name, Year of publication), page numbers.

First Footnote
Susan Fast, ‘Music, Contexts and Meaning in U2’, in Expression in Pop-Rock Music: A Collection of Critical and Analytical Essays, ed. by Walter Everett (Garland, 2000), pp. 33–58 (p. 35).

Second and subsequent footnotes
Fast, ‘Music, Contexts and Meaning in U2’, pp. 44–48.

Bibliography
Fast, Susan, ‘Music, Contexts and Meaning in U2’, in Expression in Pop-Rock Music: A Collection of Critical and Analytical Essays, ed. by Walter Everett (Garland, 2000), pp. 33–58
Journal Articles

Template
Author, ‘Title of Article’, Journal Title, volume.issue (year), page numbers, doi:xxxxxx

First Footnote
John M. Jennings, ‘French Baroque Chamber Music’, Early Music, 36.1 (2008), pp. 142–43 (p.142), doi:10.1093/em/cam146.

Second and subsequent footnotes
Jennings, ‘French Baroque’, p. 143.

Bibliography
Jennings, John M., 'French Baroque Chamber Music', Early Music, 36.1 (2008), pp. 142–43, doi:10.1093/em/cam146
Newspaper Articles

Template
Author, ‘Title of Article’, Newspaper Title, date month year, <URL> [accessed date].

First Footnote
Rachael Comer, ‘South Canterbury singers part of gold winning national choir’, Timaru Herald, 18 July 2024 <https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350343429/south-canterbury-singers-part-gold-winning-national-choir> [accessed 17 October 2024].

Second and subsequent footnotes
Comer, ‘South Canterbury singers’.

Bibliography
Rachael Comer, ‘South Canterbury singers part of gold winning national choir’, Timaru Herald, 18 July 2024 <https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350343429/south-canterbury-singers-part-gold-winning-national-choir> [accessed 17 October 2024]
Online Encyclopedias

Template
Author, ‘Title of Article: Subtitle’, in Encyclopedia Title: Subtitle, ed. by editors (Publisher name, Year of publication), page numbers if available, doi:xxxxxx

First Footnote
Dolores Pesce, Maria Eckhardt, and Rena Charnin Mueller, ‘Liszt, Franz [Ferenc]’ in Grove Music Online (Oxford University Press, 2023), doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.48265.

Second and subsequent footnotes
Pesce, Eckhardt, and Mueller, ‘Liszt, Franz [Ferenc]’.

Bibliography
Dolores Pesce, Maria Eckhardt, and Rena Charnin Mueller, ‘Liszt, Franz [Ferenc]’ in Grove Music Online (Oxford University Press, 2023), doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.48265
Websites

Formula
Author name, ‘Title of Item’, Website Name/Name of Platform, date <URL>, [accessed date].

First Footnote

Margo Schulter, ‘Pythagorean Tuning and Medieval Polyphony’, Early Music FAQ (10 June 1998) <http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/harmony/pyth.html> [accessed 17 October 2024].

Second and subsequent footnotes
Schulter, ‘Pythagorean Tuning’.

Bibliography
Schulter, Margo, ‘Pythagorean Tuning and Medieval Polyphony’, Early Music FAQ (10 June 1998) <http://www.medieval.org/emfaq/harmony/pyth.html> [accessed 17 October 2024]
A Theses or Dissertations

Formula
Author name, ‘Title of Thesis’ (unpublished type thesis, university name, year), DOI OR <URL> [accessed date].

First Footnote

Jane, Philip. ‘An Historical Survey of the Establishment of an Orchestral Tradition in Christchurch to 1939’ (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Canterbury, 2009), pp. 54–63, doi:10.26021/4558.

Second and subsequent footnotes
Jane, ‘Historical Survey’, p. 75.

Bibliography
Jane, Philip. ‘An Historical Survey of the Establishment of an Orchestral Tradition in Christchurch to 1939’ (unpublished doctoral thesis, University of Canterbury, 2009), doi:10.26021/4558
Films The Piano, written and dir. by Jane Campion (Australia, 1993).
Music Scores As for Books for a whole piece; as for Book Chapters if it is a piece from a collection or anthology